How does PNG really feel about the Royals?

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla have been traveling across Australia as part of their antipodean tour to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. Before arriving here, the Royal couple spent a couple of busy days in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby. The British Royal family rarely features in popular media or public debate in PNG, but they received a warm welcome with thousands turning out to see them.

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ELIZABETH JACKSON: Prince Charles and his wife Camilla have been travelling across Australia as part of their antipodean tour to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.

But before arriving here, the royal couple spent a couple of busy days in Papua New Guinea's capital, Port Moresby.

The British royal family rarely features in popular media or public debate in PNG, so what do our northern neighbours really think about this royal rendezvous?

From Port Moresby, here's our correspondent Liam Fox.

LIAM FOX: First up, a confession: I read all of my wife's trashy celebrity magazines, so I'm fairly up to speed with the latest gossip surrounding the British royal family.

But in PNG, apart from the most salacious scandals, the royals rarely feature in the local media.

And unlike Australia, there is no republican debate; the country has more pressing issues to deal with like poor health facilities, schools and roads.

So it was going to be interesting to see how people responded to the two day visit by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

(Bagpipes play at reception)

From the start the reception was a very warm one. Thousands of people gathered on the hillside overlooking Port Moresby's airport to catch a glimpse of the royal couple when they arrived last Saturday evening.

Among them were hundreds of children dressed in their school uniforms waving British and Papua New Guinean flags.

Even more people turned up at Sir John Guise stadium the next morning for a public church service and cultural display.

There were big cheers for Prince Charles when he addressed the crowd in Pidgin, telling them, "mi nambawan pikinini bilong Misis Kwin. Mi bringim bigpela tok hamamas bilong Majesti Kwin bilong Papua New Guinea". That is: "I'm the Queen's first born child. I bring you greetings from Her Majesty, the Queen of Papua New Guinea".

It's one thing to read about the royals in trashy mags and to watch them on the television, but seeing them in action brings a whole new perspective.

There's no swanning around on these royal tours, it's hard work.

Sunday started with the church service and cultural display; then a visit to a bird and flower farm; then a half-hour drive out to Boera village to open a health clinic, check out the local arts and crafts, and plant a mangrove.

It was a very hot day, no clouds, full sun and high humidity. By the end of it the large media pack looked decidedly sweaty and dishevelled.

Despite the rush, there were some touching moments. Camilla cleared time to meet a group of Australian World War II veterans who were in PNG to mark the 70th anniversary of the Kokoda campaign and other famous battles. She shook their hands, asked where they lived and where they had served. The old boys were absolutely chuffed and said it was the highlight of their trip.

So what do Papua New Guineans think about the royal visit?

I put the question out to the Twitterverse and the responses generally fell into two categories.

The first group said it was great publicity for PNG; a positive story about a country that normally only makes the international headlines when bad things happen.

The other group, mostly made up of locals, took exception to the cost of the visit, which the government put at around $10 million.

Rita Kandawa summed up the view, with her tweet: "What a slap in the face for all those needing better health care and better schools and improved roads".

The Governor-General, Sir Michael Ogio, made an interesting point about the importance of the monarchy at the state dinner for Their Royal Highnesses. He said Governors-General come and go, Prime Ministers come and go, but the Queen remains.

Perhaps he's right. Despite the fact the monarchy rarely features in public debate here, it could be argued that Queen Elizabeth II is an important symbol of stability and continuity in a country that's still forming a national identity after just 37 years as an independent country.